Group 'votes' on some ideas to help make Vallejo greener

Published By Times Herald

A community event to turn Vallejo into a "greener" city continued Monday night at the second meeting of a two-part workshop.

The one-hour event allowed participants to "vote" on a few of more than 30 proposed measures, drafted after the first meeting Nov. 8.

These measures eventually will make up the Climate Action Plan, with the help of Sonoma State University's Center for Sustainable Communities, city staff and the community.

Each participant was given a small keypad to vote on each presented measure, which will help the city reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and meet the state's goal. The goal is to reach 15 percent below 2005's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, said Michael McCormick, of PMC, a public agencies consultant company.

About 10 participants discussed and anonymously voted on the 10 of the 30 proposed measures. These measures included replacing city vehicles with an energy-efficient fleet, revising public parking requirements and creating community outreach programs.

The current draft of the proposed measures is available online at www.ci.vallejo.ca.us.

"It's important that the community is involved in this process," Vallejo acting planning manager Michelle Hightower said. "It's a team effort between the city and the community."

Participants were able to leave comments on each measure at the workshop, which will later be considered by the city when drafting a proposal, Hightower said.

The refined measures will be presented in written form to the Planning Commission on Feb. 23 and the public is invited to join the meeting and get more information, she added. The measures will be available online for the public about a week before the meeting.

The full draft is planned to be completed and presented to the Planning Commission in April, before it is submitted to the City Council.